Nicholas Investment Partners LP Sells 46,878 Shares of Ares Management Corporation $ARES

Nicholas Investment Partners LP cut its position in shares of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) by 64.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,622 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 46,878 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $4,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,050,425 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $4,210,530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,373,955 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ares Management by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,705,599 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $922,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ares Management by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,489,004 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $883,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963,460 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Ares Management by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,257,710 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $688,176,000 after purchasing an additional 14,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ares Management by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,839,693 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $620,616,000 after purchasing an additional 304,920 shares in the last quarter. 50.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ares Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ARES opened at $134.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Ares Management Corporation has a 12 month low of $95.80 and a 12 month high of $195.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $119.83 and a 200-day moving average of $134.91. The company has a market capitalization of $44.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.51.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The asset manager reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Ares Management had a return on equity of 22.14% and a net margin of 10.54%.The business had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ares Management Corporation will post 6.06 EPS for the current year.

Ares Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. Ares Management’s payout ratio is currently 251.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ARES has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Ares Management from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ares Management from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. UBS Group set a $148.00 price target on Ares Management in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Ares Management from $127.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Ares Management from $165.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ares Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.56.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a global alternative asset manager that provides investment solutions across credit, private equity and real estate. The firm originates and manages capital across a range of strategies including direct lending, syndicated and special situations credit, private equity buyouts and growth investments, and real estate equity and debt. Ares serves institutional investors, insurance companies, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and high‑net‑worth clients through both commingled funds and bespoke managed account structures.

Within credit, Ares offers strategies spanning leveraged loans, structured credit, opportunistic and distressed debt, and specialty finance, with an emphasis on underwriting, portfolio construction and active asset management.